The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-04-16

gOlQ discoveries In south Africa.
Vice Consul knight. representing
this Government at Cape Town,
has forwarded to the State Depart
ment an interesting report upon
the developments, in which he says :
Gold mining in the Transvaal has
been carried on in a desultory
manner for something like fifteen
years. The fact that q large por-
ton of the northeastern portion of
the Republic is highly auriferous
had been ascertained years ago, but
the failure, until quite recently, to
discover anything like payable gold
has kept the fame of the Transvaal,
as a country Of mineral riches, in
the background. It was only in
June last that the now famous
Sheba reef in the De Kaap valley,
was discovered. The quartz from
the reef yields from ten to thirty
ounces of gold to the ton, The
amount of gold that mining ex-
perts claim this reef contains is
fabulous.
But even this wonderful reef has
been eclipsed by another reef dis
covered shortly after and known
as the Thomas reef, samples of
quartz weighing 1900 pounds from
which, it is claimed, yield 14S
ounces of gold. These discoveries
naturally gave an impetus to pros
pecting on a large scale, resulting
In the discovery of marvelously ex-
tensive and rich gold-quartz veins.
The territory within which gold
quartz has been found extends
from Witwatersrand, thirty miles
from the capital, Pletoria, Ieasterly
200 miles to the De Kaap valley,
with q varying width of from thirty
to $50 miles. These gold-bearing
veins or reefs occur in patches of
more or less rich or payable char
acter. Quartz taken from the
Witwatersrand gold fields has
yielded from four to thirty ounces
to the ton. 1t is, of course, impos-
sible, considering the embryonic
state of these gold fields, to give
anything like an accurate account
of their extent or capabilities. This
much l am able to state, from the
best information obtainable, that
the Transvaal fields, when fully de-
yeloped, will prove among the
richest in the world. These dis
coveries have naturally given rise
to no end Of speculation and min
ing ventures, and a great rush of
capitalists and adventures has set
in for the fields. Near the Shelba
reef, a city, Barberton, has sprung
up as if by magic, numbering al
ready 1000 to 5000 population,
and is rapidly increasing. AS an
illustration of faith that men of
capital have in the stability and
future of the fields, / may mention
that three cargoes of lumber that
arrived in Cape Town within the
last two weeks were purchased for
shipment to the fields.
Barberton, the center Of the fields,
is situated in the De Kaap Valley,
in the northeastern portion of the
Transvaal, between latitude % and
26 degrees south. The nearest sea-
port is Delagoa Bay, in the Portu
guese possessions on the east coast,
from which it is distant about 200
miles. This route is only availa-
BILE in the winter months, the prev
alence of fever in the summer time
effectually closing it to traffic, A
railway between Delagoa Bay and
Pretoria is in course of construc-
ton, and its completion will greatly
facilitate communication with the
fields. The next nearest route to
Barberton is via Port Natal, distant
4S1 miles, of which 1S9 miles is by
rail and the remainder by wagon.
The best and most popular route at
present is by way Of Cape Town to
Kimberly, GAG miles by rail, and
from Kimberly to Pretoria, $50
miles by wagon. The journey is
made by this route in from six to
twenty days, at a cost of from $75
to 1920, according to class and
style of travelling.
While these fields offer many OPP
for successful ventures
to men of capital, ] cannot too
strongly point out the futility of
men without means yenturing here,
unless they be thoroughly practical
miners. In the first place, no pay
able placer gold washings have as
yet been discovered. The result of
successful prospecting has thus far
been invariably the discovery Of
gold quartz reefs, the working of
which require large expenditures
for machinery. While a few have,
and others undoubtedly will, con-
tinue to reap riches by the discov-
cry of payable gold reefs, thousands
who, in the absence Of alluvial dig
gings will follow prospecting, will,
l fear be doomed to bitter disap-
pointment. The large influx Of
has already raised the
price of food to famine prices. The
time that must elapse before COM